Overview
- An almost three-metre-high stretch of stone was uncovered beneath Chester Crown Court after archaeologist Dr Stewart Ainsworth noticed a sudden change in masonry while lighting a dark corridor with his phone.
- Researchers compared the stonework with surviving Norman castle fabric and later 18th-century Thomas Harrison work and concluded the buried wall dates to the medieval period rather than to Harrison’s remodelling.
- Teams used digital scanners and 3D modelling to map and document the find and interpreted the feature as likely belonging to a 13th-century bridge that spanned the castle’s deep defensive ditch.
- Cheshire Constabulary and the University of Chester said the discovery came from proactive surveys and that heritage staff will record and safeguard the remains while carrying out further investigations across the castle complex and car park.
- The find shows how simple field observation combined with digital recording can reveal hidden medieval structures under later buildings and could change plans for conservation, research and public interpretation at Chester Castle.